Can This Gadget Suck Money Out of Your Wallet?

I think that you missed a much more effective gadget, email. Yours, as well as others, have successfully sucked money out of my wallet. Of course, it was voluntary on my part. Thanx for the continuing flow of great info.

Interesting. Normally on 'Social Issues' there is descent or a devils advocate in the replies. Here I count 13 reply's without a single disecne. THAT ought to tell people that perhaps it's time to REALLY write letters to their congressmen and Seniors at the state and federal levels - not just say that they should. FINALLY something we can all agree (so far) about.

Perhaps as good as any 'one stop' place for addresses:

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

Just a couple of paragraphs, more than 3 don't really get read, there is an algorithm they use to gauge support for things like this, independent, non circulated 'e-petions' get more points. Phone calls the the most. E-petions get the least - I don't know the point system now, but when writing was allowed, a letter got 10 points, a phone call 6, and a petition 2 points. Meaning a single letter represented 10 voters, phone calls represented 6 voters, petitions represented 2 voters.

That was YEARS go, I don't know what the 'points' are now. But there you go- a link to fire off a line if you want - you can bitch here, or you can do something other than grumble. I'd rather stop grumbling and do something - (remember some funding of your elected comes from those seized funds -- it's ONE reason why cops have military 'breach' vehicles will full anti-IED armor)and full auto Ma-duces or m-60's on the turret.

Or you could just mutter how 'bad' it is.

Yet another example of so-called law enforcement agencies in the USA bending the Constitution into a pretzel in order to 'protect the law-abiding' by stealing money from the innocent wherever they can. Thank heaven I no longer live in the USA - this has given me another reason never to go back there.

Since when do you have to prove something belongs to you. Don't the F****ng cops have to prove it is not.
It is the cops we should be worried about.

What are the police going to be able to do next-seize your home?

Geeze Bob, I am surprised to see you say that some policemen are thieves and not the exalted demi-gods so many people began to worship after Sept 11 2001.

You know, I never did understand this deification of a bunch of civil servants who were simply doing the job that they were well paid to do when the planes hit the 2 towers and the Pentagon. I spent 12 years as a Civil Servant (but not a cop) and several older friends died on the job. Just because a bunch of people die at once because of a shared event they don't stop being dead people and become something more. If the former were true than everyone who dies today because of the flu should be deified, as well as all people who die of throat and lung cancer today because of cigarets. The list goes on... But 9/11 was different, you say... Why? Because so many people have limited imaginations? All the 1st responders died doing their job. They had a contract with the city to do certain things for their getting a regular paycheck. Death was always a possibility. (Oh you want to bring up the off-duty personnel who gave their lives? Don't! I'm on a roll!)

But seriously, it seems to me that the terrorist acts of 9/11, and the lap-dog media, put cops on a pedestal that has gone to their collective heads. We are not quite in "Judge Dredd" territory yet, a future in which cops have been given the power to be Judge, Jury, and Executioner. Before we get to that point we need to reign them in.

Outstanding article, reviewing the ERAD card against current and potential abuse. By all measures, ERAD technology is a clear case of Big Brother-style "mission creep".

With digital data, we citizens are often the last to know when our rights have been violated. From DRM user-limiting provisions of software to all areaa of personal privacy, the digital rights issue begs for public discussion and for appropriate protective legislation. Where is that discussion, today?

Obviously, we should not have to defend our civil rights against abusers of our rights. So, must we prove to police we own our property, or that our free speech is permitted? It is the police who are under obligation to observe due process, first and foremost-- that is what distinguishes rule of law in a democracy from a police state (Russia or China).

Digital data is here to stay, but citizens and consumers must realize the danger of not speaking up to defend their rights. If they do not defend themselves, who will?

Maybe if enough people had their funds taken and it is legally theirs, a class action suite against the Oklahoma State Government is necessary. Litigants would sign over small amounts to litigating law firm to make it worth their while (even if it amounts to a million dollars) just to have satisfaction of costing government lots to defend. Could be done as many times as necessary.

Frank asked: "What are the police going to be able to do next-seize your home?"
Yes they can. They can claim it was being used to distribute drugs or that it was purchased with illegal money. The frequently seize vehicles. Coast Guard can seize your yacht if there is one m*riju*na cigarette aboard. It is called zero tolerance.

Yikes ! ! !

How in the world could anyone think this is ok?!

Are there no depths to which those PRICKS will not sink. We the people are under assualt from this G..D... thing we call a government.

This is a bit misleading. Prepaid cards don't have "personal information" on them. And this isn't RFID sniffing, either: it requires swiping the card through the ERAD reader.

Having said that, there certainly is room for abuse here: "Answer all my questions or I'll freeze your card and you won't be able to buy groceries". Civil forfeiture in general is pretty sketchy.

As a retired Australian Federal police officer I just want to add my own remarks as I actually get a bit tired and frustrated with some of these comments. I have no doubt Bob's facts are correct. Opinions, to which we are all entitled, are different. Here in Australia in my time, it was a continual battle with new and emerging technology, to overcome the criminal elements rush to pick it up and to then utilise to avoid, or hide from, the law. We struggled with our arms tied behind our backs by LAWS, things that do not apply to criminals, until they get caught.
I do not know whether these 'ERAD' devices are covered by the law but if not, then they should be. Look to your politicians for this, not the coppers.
And of course, there are always going to be 'bent' coppers, but, for a group of public servants, paid to do a job that continually requires most of them to respond to matters, all day and every day, that puts them in situations that could threaten their well being or even their lives, well instead of hitting on them continually, how about some respect and acknowledgement of the GOOD things that most of them do.

This issue could be small potatoes after next Tuesday when a Putin loving buffoon is elected to lead the USA and we here in Canada are faced with refugees streaming across the border. From the perspective up here it appears that sanity is an affliction suffered by a small minority down there and the world may end up looking for salvation in Elon Musk.

Unless you are strip searched, which requires probable cause, there is no legal reason for them to ask to see your credit/debit or gift cards. And they won't be able to detect them if you keep them in an aluminum case wallet; separate from the wallet you keep your driver's license and proof of insurance in. This also keeps a person with the right equipment from reading your card number when you're close to them, such as when you're inline to pay for purchases in stores. My credit card company sent me a text asking me if I bought an items worth well over $1,000; when I said I did not, they advised they would immediately close that card and send me a new card with a different number. That's when I bought my aluminum wallet case. Cheap insurance for the price of a burger.

Go figure in OK. They still have toll roads managed by corporations that claim they have not been paid for in all the years they've been in operation. I guess they think that since there isn't too much there for tourism, they have to find new and innovative ways to extract money from travelers. I really hate that the state lay right in the middle of where I have to travel often. Oh, and every time I enter the state I smell a skunk almost immediately, I guess it's the welcoming party.

If you think this is bad, read the book titled "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces" by Radley Balko.

Amazon link: https://amzn.com/1610394577 -- or check your local library.

It covers civil forfeiture in depth, as well as other outrages, like: 2:00am no-knock warrants served at the wrong address, resulting in deaths of innocent people; massive over-use of SWAT teams for routine police activities; and a federal program that transfers surplus military hardware and weapons to police agencies (because every small-town PD *needs* an APC with mounted .50-cal machine gun!).

Charles, don't rag on the whole state just because you have to pay for the road your are using. I have come to embrace toll roads since the people using them are paying for them, with a pike pass it is easy going. It really is a beautiful state with 8 eco-systems, no state has more. Slow down from the posted limit of 75, on the turnpike, maybe take some other roads. Is it perfect? No but regardless of what others may think, I haven't been to a perfect state yet.

In Arizona, we are being required to purchase a "new" $25 RFID Driver's License in order to board a plane. Soon, it will be required to cross State Lines in your own vehicle! To obtain the new license, you must provide the same info as you do for an International Passport. I remember that a couple years ago I was laughed at as a conspiracy theorist for saying that it won't be long before a passport will be required for American Citizens to travel between States, but that's another problem. The worst for all of U.S. right now is that ANYONE with an ERAD (or just a cheap RFID) Reader can stand near someone with the new license and know enough about you to OWN you. At least it's not a theory anymore!